The Energy Ninjas of Coal Ridge High School supported by the Administration and Facilities Maintenance are having a dramatic impact on the energy use at their school. As clearly seen in the graph below, the school is using far less energy today than it was 14-months ago when the National Building Competition started. Though the Competition officially ended in September 2011, that has not stopped the Ninjas, the Administration and Facilities Maintenance to continue their ENERGY STAR quest of driving energy waste out of the school and reach Best Practice for energy use.

Teachers across Garfield Re-2 are working to eliminate energy waste in their classrooms! Tracy Keesee, a 4th grade teacher and the leader of the Empowered Team at Cactus Valley Elementary, said many teachers at the school are helping save energy by having students use scrap paper for homework, displaying assignments and activities on the document camera to save copies, and using mostly daylight to light the room during class times. Often the simple things can make a big difference! Thanks for your efforts, teachers!

Students are working hard to make a difference in their school and community! At a recent visit to Cactus Valley Elementary, NET asked some Empowered Team members about why they want to save energy. Hannah said her favorite thing about saving energy is that “it helps the environment.” Brianna, when asked what she likes about saving energy, said, “We have to help the world and make it a better place.” Well said! Keep up the good work!

ENERGY STAR Partnership

The EPA’s ENERGY STAR program provides our District a solid foundation and direction for first identifying energy waste in our schools and then taking action to eliminate the waste. ENERGY STAR’s Guidelines to Superior Energy Management is a proven approach to help any organization reduce its energy use. When combined with using a building’s ENERGY STAR Rating monthly to focus all parties on improving the rating, everyone gets involved and energy waste is driven from the building, which in turn significantly lowers cost and the amount of Greenhouse Gases put into our atmosphere. We at Garfield Re-2 School District recommend everyone visit ENERGY STAR'S Guidelines for Superior Energy Management and learn how this wonderful program can help your organization and/or your home save energy.

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Thanks for the Support

We want to thank the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) for helping to fund a 4-school pilot of our EnergyCenter®. Thanks to GEO, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, CLEER, and the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative, our pilot was a success. Now we are expanding the project to include all of our schools!